Politically Speaking: Jean Evans On How Missouri Republicans Are Gearing Up For 2020

Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Jean Evans is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about the state of her party going into next year’s election cycle.

Evans served one term in the Missouri House before resigning earlier this year to take on the executive director position in the state party. She’s in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Missouri GOP, including helping organize the process to select state delegates for next year’s Republican National Convention.

Next year, Republicans will be in the position of defending five statewide offices. That task will likely include getting Gov. Mike Parson elected to a full term in office. While the GOP has performed well in rural and exurban parts of the state, Republicans have struggled recently in places like St. Louis County.

Missouri Republicans also won’t be able to count on an influx of national money next year, especially since President Donald Trump will likely easily win the state’s electoral votes. Tens of millions of dollars have flowed in Missouri the last two election cycles to influence competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.

Here’s what Evans talked about on the show:

Political parties in Missouri used to be very powerful, especially when strict campaign-donation limits to candidates meant a lot of money flowed into party campaign accounts. But Evans said that’s not the case anymore, especially since supporters of candidates for office typically set up political action committees that can take in donations of unlimited size.

Evans is confident that Congresswoman Ann Wagner will be in a good position for re-election, even if national Democrats decide to spend money to try to defeat the Ballwin Republican. Evans pointed out that Wagner was able to win the largely St. Louis County district in 2018, even when the party did poorly there.

She also discussed whether a measure that bans abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy will affect GOP chances in 2020. Evans said it’s possible that other issues will capture the attention of voters between now and November 2020.

Evans said Parson is well-positioned to run for a four-year term, pointing to his efforts to engage with voters in all parts of the state. She also said the governor’s willingness to work through tough issues with different legislative factions will help keep the party united going into 2020.

Eric Greitens used his personal backstory and resume, not alliances with elected officials, to carry him to the Missouri governorship. The Republican made castigating “career politicians” a standard part of his rhetorical pitch — even after the 2016 election season ended.

But as details emerge from a sex scandal that tarnished his image and put his political career in jeopardy, the elected officials Greitens derided aren’t coming to his rescue. Some are twisting the knife.

Sen. Jill Schupp returns to Politically Speaking to talk about the aftermath of the 2019 legislation session, which included passage of a ban on abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy and other aspects of Gov. Mike Parson’s workforce development agenda.

The Creve Coeur Democrat is serving her second term in the Missouri Senate. Her senate district includes St. Louis County cities like Creve Coeur, Town and Country, Maryland Heights, Olivette and Ladue.